The Sheepmeat Council of Australia is excited about the opportunity to roll out a series of new initiatives to further build the sector’s leadership capability thanks to funding announced as part of the Australian Government’s Leadership in Agricultural Industries Fund.
SCA’s application to the fund included development of a Sheepmeat Industry Future Flock Network – an alumni and activities that will connect current and future sheepmeat leaders with the skills and support to represent the industry.
The alumni will complement the organisation’s existing suite of programs through the joint Meat & Livestock Australia and SCA Building leadership capability for the sheep industry initiative.
Chief Executive Officer Kat Giles said SCA’s key focus was on developing leaders with the right skills to take the industry forward, but also supporting them with the necessary systems and processes needed to ensure they can be effective.
“At present, we run a number of programs which support sheepmeat producers in the areas of leadership development and building corporate governance skills,” Dr Giles said.
“The funding from the Australian Government will further increase the support we can provide, ensuring skills developed are well used through a leadership pipeline that will allow the sheep industry to grow in the future and have a strong united voice for producers.
“We are taking a strategic approach to leadership capability building through the Sheep Industry Leadership Strategy developed by SCA. The recent reform of the organisation to include a skills-based board, has been driven by the desire to engage leaders across the industry and, vitally, provide the development pipeline through the supporting policy committees.”
SCA is adopting a new governance framework as part of its transition to become Sheep Producers Australia Ltd. This transition will give the organisation capacity to accommodate and adapt to changes in its operating environment.
Dr Giles said the future flock network will provide information, opportunities and leadership development through innovative platforms, that can be expanded beyond the sheep industries to help build agriculture.
“Our plan is to connect all the participants of sheepmeat industry programs, including the SCA’s programs, so we can provide ongoing engagement, professional development and networking to build a pool of people for the industry’s leadership positions and to keep them engaged in SCA and industry activities,” she said.
“Overall, we know the leadership program is having an impact on the industry. Already, we have supported 20 producers and industry personnel to receive formal corporate governance training through the Company Directors Course run by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
“We have run Governance in Action workshops for 30 producers and state farming organisation staff to upskill them in advocacy and have supported another 14 through our very own Sheep Industry Leadership Program, run by the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.
“Participants of these programs will be prime candidates for being part of an alumni so we thank the Australian Government for its support and look forward to getting started.”